28 GEARS March 2012

by Mike Souzamembers.atra.com

www.atra.com

In 2003, the Ford 5R110W — also referred to as the TorqShift — came into existence. It was

first designed for use with Ford’s 6.0L diesel engine in their heavy duty truck line.

This transmission is basically a redesigned 4R100: a 5-speed that’s actually a 6-speed. The transmission is capable of six ratios but the transmis-sion only uses five ratios at a time, depending on the temperature. The transmission uses 4th gear ratio in cold mode and 5th gear ratio in hot mode operation.

In cold mode operation — about 5ºF (–15ºC) — it shifts 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th. In hot mode — anything above 5ºF (–15ºC) — it shifts 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th. So in south Florida you might never see 4th gear. Then again, the 4th gear ratio is 1.09:1 and

An Unusual Bind of a Different Kind

Figure 2

Figure 1

Fig. 1 ...the one common

denominator for a bind in all these ranges would be if the overdrive

clutches were staying on

all the time.

GEARS March 2012 29

5th gear is 1.00:1, so who’d notice the difference?

At first this unit experienced major failures caused by an unfortunate low-reverse planet design. The planetary pinion shafts would loosen up in the housing and walk out of the planet. If that wasn’t bad enough, the low-reverse ring gear hub had several large holes in it, so the pinion shaft might slip through one of the holes, causing some interest-ing damage when it occurred while speeding down the highway.

One of the first set of changes to the 2005 model included redesigning the low-reverse planet, and eliminating the holes in the low-reverse ring gear hub, just in case the pinion shafts still walked out. Since then, 2005-and-later models have had far fewer problems.

Binds after RebuildA 2006 (or later) full-size Ford

truck equipped with a 5R110W enters the shop; it has high mileage and is slipping when hot. The fluid’s burnt and there’s enough debris in the pan to justify an internal inspection. Just the

Figure 3

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30 GEARS March 2012

usual, everyday grind in the transmis-sion repair business.

After a rebuild, the transmission exhibits an unusual bind in reverse, drive 3, and manual low; manual 2 is working fine. The transmission may feel like it’s taking off in a higher gear than 1st. These symptoms aren’t familiar problems with this transmis-sion. Another look at the original repair order reveals there were no complaints like these before the rebuild: The only complaint was the transmission was

slipping. The technician searched for any

technical service bulletins, repair tips, or articles on this particular problem; there weren’t any. It had to be some-thing caused during rebuild: what we refer to as a self-inflicted wound. After taking a close look at the transmission clutch apply chart (figure 1), the one common denominator for a bind in all these ranges would be if the overdrive clutches were staying on all the time. The coast clutch is on in reverse, man-

ual 3 and manual 1, causing the bind. But it’s not on in manual 2 or the Drive range so it’ll move, even though feels like it’s in a higher gear.

In the 2006-and-later model 5R110W, the O/D pressure plate has a raised, stepped area on one side with an extended tab toward one tooth (fig-ure 2). These plates are found mostly in the 5R110W with the PTO setup. When you install the plate in the case, the extended tab is supposed to face the valve body, or the 6 o’clock position (figure 3); flat side up.

If you don’t place the snap ring opening in the proper location during a rebuild (incorrect installation shown in figure 4), the O/D clutches will mechanically lock when you bolt the pump to the case.

You can see the clutches through a small opening in the main case (figure 5). You can check the clutches for free play through this opening with a scribe or thin screwdriver. You should feel noticeable movement in the clutches and steels to verify that they aren’t clamped down.

The only reason for this design change that makes sense was to add strength to the pressure plate. Not that I’ve seen or heard of any failure in this area with the earlier, flat-style plate. The early style plate will work fine in place of the later style, and some sup-pliers only stock the earlier plate.

If you make this mistake, you’ll have no choice but to remove the trans-mission from the vehicle and correct it. Of course the vehicle in question will probably be a four wheel drive, which you’ll be finishing late on Friday after-noon and the customer needs to travel out of town the next day. But that’s the nature of the business…

An Unusual Bind of a Different Kind

Figure 4

Figure 5

If you don’t place the snap ring opening in the proper location during a rebuild the O/D clutches

will mechanically lock when you bolt the pump to the case.

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611PRE-115 Transmission Digest Feb 2012 - Gears Magazine March 2012 8.125 x 10.875 4C

Old plastic supports may become brittle and break over time or during transmission disassembly. ZF discontinued early styleand retrofits the late one. But the only way to retrofit is to change the entire pump since there is a stop-tab that meets with a“stop”on the late pump (see photo). If you choose to re-use the early pump, the late orifice support will be misaligned due tostop-tab interference.Which is why we offer both if you re-use the original pump. Both supports require a 37320 and 37330seal each that are available in our kits or bulk.

611PRE-8.125x10.875-4C-115:Layout 1 1/17/12 3:36 PM Page 1

prec plcd.indd 2 2/21/12 5:33 PM